HC student interviews provide secrets to success

Eight seniors at the College of Holy Cross interviewed local business and community leaders four years ago as freshmen, then recently re-interviewed them as college seniors. The students learned bits of wisdom and advice that, hopefully, will help them build successful careers. They also learned about some incredible life stories and accomplishments of ordinary people living and working here in Worcester.

At Holy Cross, all first-year students participate in a one-year seminar titled "Montserrat," said Michelle Sterk Barrett, the school's director of the Donelan Office of Community Based Learning.

"In this particular class, the students asked their first-year Montserrat professors, Amy Wolfson and Patricia Bizzell, if they could reconvene again as seniors," she told me via email. "They were seeking the opportunity to collectively reflect upon their experience of attending a rigorous, Jesuit, liberal arts college and what it taught them about leadership, diversity and social change. ... In particular, the assignment required that they learn more about the path this person followed to success, the qualities he/she sees in an effective leader, and the extent to which she/he sees gender and diversity playing into leadership functions."

Here is just a taste of what they learned, and who they learned from.

Francis R. Carroll, founder and president of the Small Business Service Bureau, told student David Odell about how, during the height of the anti-war protests of the late 1960s, he helped build a hospital in Vietnam, with a policy "that forbade the hospital from requesting identification from those seeking medical attention." To Mr. Carroll, health care knew no ideology. Seized by the communist government after the war, the hospital still operates today.

Former Worcester Mayor John Anderson, director of government and community relations at Holy Cross, told student Henry Callegary that leadership starts with respect.

"Mr. Anderson repeatedly argued that great leaders are the ones who are willing to listen and work with their colleagues, and are not necessarily the loudest or most visible," Mr. Callegary wrote.

Worcester Art Museum Director Matthias Wascheck told student Carmen Ana Álvarez that art museums, "if they are doing their job right, are a part of the social glue that act as participants within the quality of life of the community."

Melinda J. Boone, superintendent of the Worcester public school system, talked of her memories of a segregated South to student Jeffrey Reppucci. She attended segregated schools in Virginia until fourth grade, when she entered an integrated school. By high school, she and a few other black students were known as the "token blacks," she said, and that tokenism seemed to distract people from focusing on their talent.

The experience led her to put talent above all.

"In my role as superintendent, I do not hire by race or make policy on racial lines," Ms. Boone told Mr. Reppucci. "Instead, I hire by talent and experience."

Ann Lisi, chief executive officer of the Greater Worcester Community Foundation, grew up in Wisconsin in a family of 10 children. She told student Stephanie Okpoebo the best thing to do to find success is to "stay optimistic and avoid being too cautious and afraid of risk."

Student Jonathan Casseus learned that Worcester Mayor Joseph Petty believes in compromise: "Mayor Petty has been a strong supporter of compromising, making sure both sides are satisfied with a city initiative."

Liz Hamilton, assistant executive director of development at the Boys and Girls Club in Worcester, told student Kelly Burke that it is the children she works with that inspire her: "These children have not only shown Ms. Hamilton what it is like to endure certain unforeseen challenges, but they also have taught her a number of valuable life lessons," Ms. Burke wrote.

Tim Garven, president and chief executive officer of the United Way of Central Massachusetts, told student Lauren Chin that when he is looking for potential employees, he wants to hire chefs, not cooks.

"Chefs are able to make a meal with a few instructions, but without needing step-by-step guidance," Ms. Chin wrote. "Therefore, they are able to design and create something new and different. In contrast, a cook requires a recipe that he or she must follow directly."

We've posted the full versions of these Holy Cross student interviews with local leaders on the Worcester Connects website, on the main page of telegram.com.